Read the news section of the newspaper and there is confusion and uncertainty, a world buffeted by large forces people neither understand nor control. But turn to the sports section and its all different. – Michael Mandelbaum
If architecture is, as is sometimes said, music set in concrete, then football and basketball may be said to be creativity embodied in team sports. – Michael Mandelbaum
American influence in the world is certainly considerable, but the United States does not control, directly or indirectly, the politics and economics of other societies, as empires have always done, save for a few special cases that turn out to be the exceptions that prove the rule. – Michael Mandelbaum
Words matter, especially words defining complicated political arrangements, because they shape perceptions of the events of the past, attitudes toward policies being carried out in the present, and expectations about desirable directions for the future. – Michael Mandelbaum